The Story of Us
by th3craft3r
Summary: This story is a continuation of my One-shot from my other fic, Making Memories. Let's just see how this goes... :) Read and review! Four/Six. Marina/Eight. Five/Nine. Adamus/One.
1. Something's Wrong With Her

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lorien Legacies or any of its characters.**

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**Chapter 1**

**Something's Wrong With Her**

**Marina's POV**

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I wish I had been imagining things… but now I am sure of it. There's something wrong about Six.

She is sitting at the far side of the diner scowling and glaring… not because she was almost killed by Setrakus Ra two weeks ago… maybe part of it but not entirely. She is not looking annoyed because Nine was talking about how cool and strong he is and so full of himself… or the fact that Ella is asking her so many questions.

Normally, she jokes around but the past few days she is quiet. She seems withdrawn and I think I know why. I can see the way she winces each time Four caresses Sarah's hand. Or how she looks away each time Four kisses Sarah. There is that look of hurt in her eyes… the look of jealousy perhaps.

I walk over to her and sit across the table. "Are you okay?" I ask Six.

Six looks at me and shrugs her shoulders. "Yeah. I'm fine." She says but casts down her head, not meeting my eyes. She sighs and goes back to eating her burger. She must be feeling my eyes on her. She looks up again, and then stares at me. "What?" she asks.

"You're maybe strong but you're a terrible liar." I say as I take one of the French fries from her plate.

Six creases her brows. "What are you talking about?" she asks again.

I smile at her. "I can see the way you look at him." I add. Six turns the color of bright red and drops her burger.

"Look at whom?" Six asks again, trying to evade the obvious. I sigh and hold her hand in mine.

"Don't play innocent with me. It's getting obvious as days pass by." I say. "I don't know what happened to the two of you before but all I can see is that you have feelings for him."

"You're imagining things." Six says. "I don't have any feelings for John." She adds and I smile. _"Got ya!"_

"Who said I am talking about Four?" I ask, toying with her. _"Of course, I was talking about him."_ I add mentally. "So, it is true then. It came from your mouth. It's Four."

Six grimaces but by now, she looks like a ripe strawberry.

"_It's true! She has been thinking about him a lot these days." _Ella tells me through her telepathy. She's gotten quite good at using it. _"Can she read minds too?" _I ask myself.

"_Occasionally. Like right now." _Ella tells me again and I look at her sitting beside Six. We give each other knowing grins… Six notices it.

"What are you two grinning at?" Six asks, obviously flustered and for the first time that I see her almost vulnerable.

"Well, Ella just confirmed my suspicions." I tell Six and beam at her.

"Whatever she tells you is wrong." Six says and turns to Ella. "And Ella! It's not nice reading people's mind." She scolds.

"Oh come on!" Ella says in a surprisingly loud voice that Nine and Eight looks at us from the next table. "You mean you're just lying to yourself when you were thinking just now that how it must be so good kissing him?" Ella asks Six and I can't help but hold my laughter. "Or how it would feel nice to be wrapped around his arms." Ella adds and Six is looking like a hot metal rod.

"Ella shut up!" Six snaps and Ella recoils. "Stop it! You're wrong." She says and grits her teeth. I wonder what else Ella is telling her telepathically. "I don't have feelings for him!"

"Liar." Ella mumbles. Now I just content myself at watching the two of them bickering. "Seriously, I myself can agree that some of your thoughts are not appropriate for my age." Ella teases again.

"So, stop snooping in my thoughts." Six tells Ella.

"Feelings for whom?" Suddenly Four stood beside me. Eight and Nine joined him in a semicircle.

"Where's Sarah?" I ask Four.

"Using the restroom." He says then turn to Six again who was seething red. "Feelings for whom?" he asks again.

"For…" Ella trails off as Six clamps her mouth shut with her hands. Too bad, I realize because Ella is a telepath.

Nine was snickering. "For me?" he jokes.

"Ow come on, we all know how much she despises you." Eight remarks and pats Nine's shoulder. Four is just standing there frozen… I bet Ella told him already because he is currently looking at Six and Six was looking back at him. Four's face was obviously as red as Six's

"Can you tell us telepathically Ella?" Nine begs.

Ella smiles. "Sorry Nine, I promise Six not to… or else she'll hate me forever." She says. I just watch the tension building between Four and Six. _"Really? Eight and Nine hasn't notice already?" _I sigh internally.

"Can you tell us Marina?" Eight asks me. I smile back at him. "Figure it out yourselves." I reply.

"Boys… totally blind…" Ella comments and picks up a French fry from Six's plate. I admit, Ella is suddenly acting more mature than her age.

Sarah shows up next to Four. "Hey, what's going on?" she asks and holds Four's right hand. Only at this moment that Four and Six break their staring contest. Then abruptly Six stands up and walks past between Nine and Sarah. She head straight out the diner.

And for a few more moments, the sky darkens… Six rages beneath the storm of her own creation.

"Cut her some slack." Four says when the others try to follow her, myself included. "We'll sort things out eventually."

Sarah looks worried and asks me. "What's wrong with Six?"

I fake smile at her. "I don't know."

I can see Ella looking at Four for a moment then her gaze turns to Sarah. Ella smiles. "You're right to feel threatened." She whispers under her breath.

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**Thanks for reading :)**

**xoxo, th3craft3r**


	2. My Own Way

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lorien Legacies or any of its characters.**

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**Chapter 2**

**My Own Way**

**Six's POV**

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_ "I don't love him the way Sarah does."_ That's what I told myself. _"And yet, why am I feeling this way?"_ I wonder as the rain keeps on pouring over my head. Then suddenly warm hands grabs my shoulders. I turn to look at who it is. John is standing right beside me. The others are still inside the diner.

"Six." John says and looks straight into my eyes. I hate it when he sees me crying. I was supposed to be impervious to these kind of shit. John steps closer and hugs me. All my carefully built walls crumbles and I sob at his chest. I don't mind that his girlfriend is maybe staring at us from inside the diner. All I need now is just his warmth.

After five minutes of standing beneath the rain, we let go of each other. "I'm sorry." I tell John as I take a step back.

"It's alright." John replies and smiles at me. Even that smile of his makes me light headed. _"Damn it!"_ I curse in my mind. "So, that thing that Ella told me a while ago... ummm... is that true?" John asks.

"What did she tell you?" I ask but I'm feeling my face heat up. John brushes a strand of my hair away and my heart is just thumping like a drum.

"She said that you have some sort of romantic feelings for me." he says. Now I swear I'm looking like a ripe cherry from blushing. "And she adds that you were feeling jealous."

"Now that's just overstating things." I tell him.

"But you're not answering my question." John says and smirks.

"Can we talk about it later?" I ask. "Maybe when your girlfriend is not by any chance glaring at me or something." I add.

John focuses his eyes on my face again which makes me turn away. The storm is slowly fading away by now. "Listen..." John starts. "We need to go back to Paradise first."

"Why?" I turn to look at him again and ask.

"I can't involve Sarah in this any longer." John says. "I don't want to put her in harms way again. So, we're going to take her back there."

I try to say something but John stops me by putting his finger on my lips. "We'll talk about it later. Nine says that we should get moving. We stayed here long enough." I nod at him and I follow as he walks back inside the diner. As we enter, Sarah is looking at me curiously. Ella and Marina are smiling.

"Hey, what's that drama about?" Nine asks as head for their table and I glare at him sharply.

"It's none of your business." I tell him.

"Hey, sweetheart... keeping secrets is not good." he says. "Is it something about you and Johnny boy?"

"Shut up." I tell him again.

"Fine. I won't ask." he says while holding his hands up in surrender. His mischievous smirk is just infuriating.

John and Sarah are back at their table, talking with each other while the rest of us huddle together around Nine and Eight's table.

"So, where are we heading?" Marina asks. She is looking comfortable with Eight's arm draped over her shoulder.

"John says we should go to Paradise, Ohio first." Nine says. "To drop off his girlfriend." he adds in a whisper then turns to me and smiles.

"Why? are they breaking up?" Marina asks in a whisper too.

Nine just shrugs his shoulder. "I don't know. I can't read their minds so..." He trails off

We all turn to look at Ella. "What?" She looks back at us expectantly.

"Are they breaking up?" Marina asks her.

"Why are you asking me?" Ella asks back.

Eight steps in, looking like he is interested in the gossip for the first time. "You're the Telepath." Eight states simply.

Ella turns to me. "Well... you said it's not nice to read people's minds." she says and raises her brows.

_"Great! How can I argue with myself?"_ My mind says as I look back at Ella.

"So?" Nine asks expectantly. "Come on Ten." he adds. "If they do break up, maybe I can have a chance on her." he says further and grins.

"No I'm not reading his mind." Ella says with finality and crosses her arms.

"Well, let's leave them be." Marina says. "We'll know soon enough." she adds.

"In that case, finish your meal ladies - we're leaving in ten minutes." Nine says and leaves to go to the pickup truck outside. Soon after Marina and Eight follows him. Ella and I stay behind while we finish up with our meal.

I eat my fries in silence while Ella bites on her cheeseburger. "_If you really want to know, his thoughts are a mess right now."_ Ella tells me suddenly. I stare at her with wide eyes.

"I thought you're not going to read his mind." I say but Ella just shrugs her shoulder.

_ "I'm just snooping a little."_ Ella tells me again telepathically. _"Although he keeps on seeing your face at times... like you two are looking at each other so close and then there's an explosion."_ Ella adds. _"Kind of weird really..."_ she trails off as I momentarily zone out.

I blush again at the thought that John is thinking about the time that we almost kissed after our walk. I stay quiet and continue eating my meal - all the while replaying the memories I had with _him_.

_"Do you want to know more?"_ Ella asks.

"No." I say simply. "Just finish eating your burger."

Ella smiles at me widely.

"What is it this time?" I ask.

"I just love what you were thinking just now." she says.

"About what?" I ask her because my thoughts are a jumbled mess too. "And I told you to stop snooping in my thoughts." I add, pointing a French fry at her.

"You don't love him the way Sarah does." Ella whispers. "But you love him in your own way." she finishes and I feel like I am hit by a lightning bolt.

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**So, How was it so far? Let me know by leaving a review :)**

**xoxo, th3craft3r**


	3. Leaving and Finding

******Disclaimer: I do not own Lorien Legacies or any of its characters.**

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**Chapter 3**

**Leaving and Finding**

**Ella's POV**

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Ninety miles to Paradise, Ohio.

I am sitting at the back of the pickup truck next to Six and Bernie Kosar who had transformed back into his beagle form. Four is at the other side with Sarah but there's tension between them and they rarely spoke to each other since we left the diner. Nine is driving and Eight and Marina is with him inside. I bet Marina is really enjoying herself.

I decide to practice my telepathy again since I have not much to do but sit around. I focus on Six who seems asleep. Well, she's just pretending to be asleep actually. _"Hey, how are you doing?" _I ask her and she opens her eyes and stares at me. _"Sorry for waking you up but you're not actually sleeping were you?" _I add.

_"I'm fine." _Six tells me. _"Are we there yet?" _she asks hoping to change the subject.

_"I don't really know. I've never been to Paradise before remember?"_ I say.

_"Oh, right."_ Six answers back and smirks.

I just smile back at her and didn't say anything anymore. I decide to stop reading into her thoughts because I know at some point her mind will drift into fantasy land again. Instead I try to focus on what the others are thinking.

_"You better prepare next time we meet Setrakus."_ Nine's thoughts goes as it has always been for the past few day. He's still feeling annoyed that we didn't kill Setrakus Ra in New Mexico. _"Oh, don't be hard on yourself. We weren't prepared." _I tell him.

_"Ten? Reading minds again?"_ he says. I am surprised he replied. You see, among all of us, it is Nine that I have difficulty connecting with telepathically.

_"Nothing to do back here." _I say.

_"So, how's the tension going on back there?"_ he asks.

_"How did you know?"_

_"Oh, I sense things a bit."_ he says.

_"It's too quiet."_ I reply and smile.

"Why are you smiling Ella?" Six says as she turns to me.

"Oh, I'm talking with Nine." I tell her.

"What's that idiot telling you?" she asks.

"Nothing really." I say. "I am finally able to make a telepathic link with him." I add. Six just nods and closes her eyes.

I try to communicate with Nine again but it was much difficult this time and I can't find the link anymore. After trying a second time, I give up and turn my 'snooping skills' on Marina. After a brief mind reading, I make a mental note not to stray into her thought whenever she's with Eight. Her mind is all mush.

I give up eventually and decide to take a rest and immediate fall asleep in Six's lap.

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I wake up with Six shaking me up. "We're here." she whispers and we both stand up together and hop down from the truck. Nine picked up a pretty remote place to stop. Four and Sara are already walking through the woods. Marina and Eight follows them while I walk by Six. Nine joins us.

"So, how long are we going to stay?" I ask Nine.

"We leave as soon as possible." he says. "Damn, I can't hang around close to you guys like these." he says to Six."

"Like what?" Six creases her brows as we continue following the others. Four and Sarah are talking quietly.

"You know, it's weird... it's like I can feel all the emotions around all of you." he says. "Seven's crush on Eight... Ella's excitement about something... Four's emotional turmoil... and most of all your jealousy!" Nine rants and I smile. Six however, is glowering towards him. "And don't try to deny it, I know I'm right." he adds.

Six storms off with Bernie Kosar. "So, how long have you noticed?" I ask Nine. I always think of him as my big brother since New Mexico.

"Well, after we left the diner." he says.

"Do you think it's another Legacy?" I ask him.

"Probably." He says then shrugs. "But whatever, we really need to find Five soon."

"Yeah, I know..." I say. "You're hoping she's a girl right?" I tease.

"How did you... ow... never mind..."

"Oh, don't worry..." I say. "Maybe if she's a girl you'll have a partner too." _"Hopefully." _I add mentally. "You're thinking about that right?" I ask him.

"Oh, I hate talking to you." Nine says. "Can you turn off your mind reading thing for a while?" he asks. I merely smile at him as we follow the others.

We reach the end of a tree line and we stand beside Eight and Marina. I roll my eyes, those two seems to be glued together.

"You guys wait here." Four says. "I'll walk Sarah to her house." he adds and hold Sarah's hand firmly in his.

"You're a wanted criminal dude." Eight says. "Why don't I teleport her to her house?" he offers.

"Actually, that could work." Marina agrees.

"It's alright." Sarah says. "I can walk there alone. "I don't want to put you guys at risk." she adds.

"It's us that don't want to put you at risk by leaving you here." Nine says.

"No, it's okay... I understand. It would be difficult for you guys to fight if I get in the way." Sarah says.

"Sarah I'll come back when all this is over..." Four trails off.

Sarah shakes her head "We already talked about it John and I'm okay with it. I can handle on my own." Sarah says. I look at Six but her face is blank.

"Let's go." Four says.

"Oh, enough with the drama already." Nine mumbles silently.

"But there's too many people out there." I say. "You'll be seen."

"Just let me teleport the both of you." Eight offers again.

"Or I can make you two invisible." Six says as she fishes out a Xitharis from her pocket. She concentrated for a while and then hands the stone to Four. "Here. Take this. Take your time." she says.

"Thanks." Sarah tells Six as Four absorbs the invisibility from the stone. "I think I'm ready to go." he says and grabs Sarah's hand. They turn invisible and the patches on the grass tells us that they start walking towards Sarah's house.

All of us that remained behind waits patiently for Four to return. A while later, Four and Sarah materializes under the shade of a tree in front of the house. They talk for a while and then Sarah kisses Four. Six didn't turn away this time. Four goes invisible again.

I concentrate on Sarah's thoughts as she waves goodbye to Four. _"Go save the world for me Hero."_ her mind goes. _"Although I think this is the part I have to break up with you... I can see the way you look at her... and I understand... you used to look at me the same way too..." _Then she turns to Six's direction. _"You guys be careful out there... Take good care of him for me..."_

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"So, where to?" I ask as I ride shotgun while Nine is driving. After we dropped off Sarah, we immediately drove off out of Paradise.

I don't know..." Nine says. "Six tells me to drive to West Virginia."

"Is that far?" I ask innocently.

"A little bit." Nine says. "Seriously, you two need to get a room." he adds and turns to Eight and Marina in the backseat.

"Shut up Nine!" Marina says.

"Dude, I can sense your emotions." Nine says and winks at Eight.

"Just keep driving." Eight replies.

"So, how are the other two back there?" Nine asks and Marina peers back through the window.

"Well, Four is sleeping." Marina says.

"On Six's lap." Eight adds.

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Nine drives for a few more hours until he decide that we should camp first and plan out. Eight changes into an eagle and scouts out. When he returns, he said that there's a clearing a hundred feet from the side of the road. Nine drives there.

The clearing is surrounded by trees and there's a few boulders on the far side. I help Four and Eight gather some dried wood for a camp fire while Nine takes a nap and Marina and Six talks.

Later that night, after a decent dinner, courtesy of Marina; I find myself sitting by the camp fire with Four and Six. Nine had gone back to sleep moments earlier and Marina and Eight were sleeping too.

"Want to see something cool Ella?" Four asks.

"Sure. What is it?" I ask him.

Four takes out a small velvet pouch from is Chest and poured the contents into his hand. They are some sort of orbs. He toss the said orbs into the air and suddenly it forms into replica of a Solar System. But instead of eight planets, there are only Four.

"What is that?" I ask Four as curiosity overwhelms me.

"That is Lorien's star system." Six says as she joins us. She pointed to a small grew orb. "And that is our planet." she adds.

Four activates his Lumen and shines it on the small replica of Lorien. Almost suddenly it looks like that planet has come to life. It changes, I can clearly see the sky, the oceans and the vegetations before it was all destroyed.

"Wow! That's cool." I marvel. Four turn off his Lumen and the planet goes back to it's barren state.

"But right now, that's Lorien." Four says. "On hibernation. Waiting for our return." Six adds hopefully.

Suddenly the orbs spins around and it changes into the image of the Earth.

"Whoa!" Four exclaims. "That's us right there." he adds as he points to a cluster of red dots.

"Then what about that one right there?" Six asks while she pointed to a single dot somewhere in Pennsylvania.

"What happened?" I ask.

"Someone must have opened their Chest." Four answers. "But that's somewhere in Pennsylvania." He adds then turns to me. "Ella, go wake Nine and the others please."

I dash to where Nine is sleeping curled up next to a fallen log. I shake him. "Nine, Wake up!" I tell him. He stirs and looks at me for a moment. "What? did the Mogs found us already?" he asks.

"No, Four and Six needs you." I say then run towards the pickup truck where Eight and Marina are sleeping. As I approach the truck, BK runs towards me while wagging his tail.

I find Marina sleeping on Eight's chest at the back of the truck with wide smile across her face that she almost look like she was grinning.

"Guys!" I wake them up by shaking their ankles. "Come quick." I tell them then I run back to where Four and Six are.

Nine has his Chest and is digging something from it. He pulls out a red crystal a while later. "Here it is." He says as he hands the crystal to Six. As soon as he had spoken, his words sounded like it's echoing and the red dot is pulsating.

"We can use this as a communication device." Four says and his voice echoed from the globe. Marina and Eight teleports next to us.

_"Mierda!"_ a woman's voice with a thick Spanish accent yelled. We all look at each other

"Who said that?" I ask.

"That must be Five!" Nine says excitedly. "Cute accent." he adds. Marina and Six rolls their eyes.

"Hey, Five... is that you?" Four speaks into the red crystal. I look at him and furrowed my brows in confusion.

"It works like a microphone." Nine tells me.

We waited for Five to answer. But nothing happens. Maybe she can't hear us." Nine says again. "Maybe she doesn't have a macrocosm." Four adds.

"A macro-what?" Eight asks.

"That thing." Six says as she points to the globe in front of us.

"Looks like it." Nine says again.

_"Oh, Shut up Adamus!"_ the voice suddenly says. "I had enough of your meddling."

"Hey! I'm not Adamus!" Nine yells but Five didn't answer. Instead a man's voice echoed from the macro-thing.

_"One says that that's a communication crystal but you'll need a macrocosm so you can hear the others too."_ the man says.

"One?" Almost all of us asks. "I thought she's already dead." Nine says.

_"I heard what you said... or she said rather..."_ Five's voice continues. _"But I don't see any macrocosm here..."_ There is a sudden pause and we all listen eagerly. _"You know, you talk a lot about One..."_ Five begins again in a somewhat teasing voice. _"I bet you two were a thing... you know what I mean..."_ she adds then there's laughter. _"Her taste is despicable though... of all the people, she fell for a Mog." _

Okay, I admit that we are probably listening into some gossip. But that last part made us all gasp.

"Adamus is a Mog?" Six asks. "That can't be right." she adds.

"And what's Five doing with him?" Four asks further.

"Dude, this is all confusing." Nine says. "We better get to her fast." he adds and stands up.

_"Shut up Sophia!"_ Adamus' voice goes. _"They're already here."_ he adds then there's a sound like a door opening.

_"Nobody calls me by that name anymore!"_ Five says sounding angry. Then there's a sudden pause. _"You must be Sam."_ Five says and then the communication goes off as she shuts her Chest.

"Whoa!" Four exclaims. "They found Sam?" he asks and looks at Six who is also wide-eyed.

"Ten, maybe you can communicate with her." Nine tells me.

"I'll try." I tell them as they all look at me expectantly.

I concentrated and try to make a link with Five. _"Five? Can you hear me? Five? Are you there?"_ I ask a stream of question. I try again. And again. And Again. _"Sam? Adamus? Five? Sophia? Can any of you hear me?" _I ask again but to no avail. Until... _"Dios mio! Who are you?" _Five's thoughts says.

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**Hey there! I do hope you liked this update. Thanks for the previous reviews :D to Eldanar especially for writing that long one and for the advice.**

**So, tell me what you think abut this one. PM me or leave a review :D Thanks for reading XD**

**Anyways, I apologize for taking so long to post again. And to my PJO readers, sorry for not posting for a while, I'm working on it.**


	4. Journey to Five

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lorien Legacies or any of its characters.**

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**Chapter 4**

**Journey to Five**

**Four's POV**

* * *

It's really hard staying still and comfortable... and may I add not blushing when a telepath is constantly saying _"Kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her!"_ in my mind.

I grit my teeth and turn away from Six who is sitting right next to me. We are in the backseat. Marina and Eight are on the other side of Six while Ella is riding shotgun with Bernie Kosar on her lap while Nine is driving. We are currently on our way to Pennsylvania to meet with Five and the others.

_"Kiss her! Kiss her!"_ Ella's teasing begins again.

"Ella, would you please stop that?" I said calmly but I feel my face heat up again. I feel Six's warm palm against my bare shoulder. "What's wrong? What's Ella telling you?" she whispers.

"Um..." I stutter. "It's um... nothing." I say without looking at her.

"Ella, stop that." Six scolds Ella.

The youngest Garde turns to us and pouts. "Fine." she says then turns her attention to Nine who is seriously focused on getting to Five. "Are we there yet?" she asks.

"Only halfway." Nine replies with a smile then turns his attention back on the road.

Four miles more and it starts raining. Marina leans her head against Eight and he in turn pulls her closer in a side embrace.

"I'm getting sleepy." Six murmurs while she absentmindedly twirls her blond dyed hair. I realize I liked it more when it was her original raven hair. Her current hair color just reminds me of Sarah's. But hers curls right at her shoulders though unlike Sarah's straight hair. _"Oh boy, what am I thinking?" _I ask myself.

"Maybe you should get some sleep. It's still a long way to go." I tell Six as I lay my head against the seat.

"Yeah right." she says and rests her head against my shoulder. My heart then starts thumping wildly. I hope she doesn't hear it. Some of her loose hair tickles my face. _"It smells great. Like lemon shampoo." _I made mental note.

_"Oh boy, that's so cheesy."_ Ella says through my mind again.

_"Ella, you're so annoying." _I tell her. _"And it's not nice reading people's mind." _I add.

I hear Ella chuckle from the front seat. _"I know. Six told me the same thing." _she says.

"Do you think Five and Nine will get along?" Six suddenly asks.

"I thought you're going to sleep." I say. "To answer your question, I don't think so. Nobody gets along with Nine." I add and chuckle. Six laughs.

"I heard that!" Nine mumbles from the front as he opens a can of Dr. Pepper and starts drinking. "Want some?" He offers and Ella shakes her head.

Six and I laugh again.

"Go to sleep you two." Nine scolds.

Moments later, I rest my own head against Six's as we gradually fall asleep.

* * *

"Wake up!" I hear someone's voice as I open my eyes. Six reaches across me and opens the door. She shoves me out and we both fall to the ground. Then she reaches for my hand again and we both turn invisible. I realize that we stopped at the side of the road somewhere. Nine is already holding his spear as he covers Ella who is running towards us as BK trails behind. and Eight and Marina teleports next to us. Six pulls me up.

I see two FBI trucks coming our way.

"They tracked us." Ella says as she reaches us. Eight teleports next to Nine. Six sprints after him and I follow too. "Marina, secure the Chests and protect Ella." I tell her over my shoulder. In the distance our enemies are disembarking from their vehicles, I am surprised that all the vehicles are occupied by Mogs. Some of them are wielding blades while others have guns and then they start shooting at us.

"Wait for them to spread out." Six commands as I reach her side. Nine is already twirling his staff and Eight has a blade in his hand. I feel the air grew cold and. Marina stands beside me.

"Bernie's guarding Ella." she tells me.

_"I'll help you from here." _Ella conveys.

I see a Mog bullet coming towards Six. I deflect it with my telekinesis easily. "Let's do this." I say. Then all of us starts attacking. "I'll take the two on the left." I hear Nine saying. "The middle one's mine." Eight adds then vanishes. He materialize right in front of the Mog in the center. Moments later, the said Mog disintegrated.

I gather up fire in my hands and begin shooting at the enemies. _"One on your right." _Ella instructs. I turn and hit the Mog with my fireball. Marina is busy flinging back the others with her telekinesis. Next to me Six is holding her dagger then she turns invisible. Nine is dueling with two Mogs at once. I see he pierces the other one and easily takes down the other. There must be close to twenty Mogs and all around looks like chaos.

I shot another Mog just in time as he swings a blade at Eight. Eight flashes a smile at me then teleports elsewhere. Two Mogs are running towards me holding huge blades in their hands. Marina deflects the other one and shoots him to ash. I run towards the other. Up close, he looks like an ugly body builder. He swings his blade and it nearly caught me in my midsection. _"Right!" _Ella says. I side step again as he swings another blow. I light up my Lumen and blast him away.

When I turn around, Nine is tearing another Mog into two. Six is standing at the middle of the road holding her hands up high.

_"Protect her, she's calling her lightning." _Ella tells me. I immediately run towards Six as I activate my Lumen to cover my whole body that I resemble like a human torch. An enemy tries to stab Six, luckily I was in time and parry the attack with my telekinesis. I jump at the attacker and he burns. Moments later, thunder booms as I crouch protectively in front of Six, any enemy that Nine and Eight fails to kills, I shot them with fireball. Then lightning struck.

I see Eight judo-flip another enemy then it was hit by a bold of lightning. "Hey! watch it Six!"Eight shouts as he teleports safely away from the fried enemy. He has a cut on his arm. Nine on the other hand is grinning like a goof despite his ankle is bleeding. He continues to mow down anyone who gets in his path.

There are flashes of lightning arcs all over the battlefield. Soon the remaining Mogs retreats but Six strikes them with lightning nonetheless.

Marina pulls another Mog back and he landed on Eight's waiting blade. "Nice!" I heard Eight say. I turn off my Lumen as the last enemy is turned into ash. Six collapses but I catch her in time.

"Hey, are you hurt?" I ask her frantically as I cradle her head in my arms. She smiles up at me but she looks really exhausted.

"No, I'm okay. Just tired." she replies. "How are the others?" she asks as I tuck a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. Eight teleports next to us. "Let me heal you." Marina says as she stands beside him.

"They're fine." I tell Six and she nods.

"Help me up." she tells me and I oblige.

"Well, that was a piece of cake." Nine says as he reaches us. "Let's do that more often. It's kind of fun." he adds and I just shake my head.

_"We need to keep moving." _Ella says.

"Let's go." I tell the others and we walk back to the pickup truck while I carry Six in my arms.

"Let me heal your wounds first." Marina insists before we drive off again.

"Nice job Ten." Nine says as he pats Ella's head.

* * *

We all pack inside the van again in our former positions as soon as Marina finished healing our scars. Nine drives off again like we are participants in a drag race. The view outside zoomed into a blur.

"I think you should catch some sleep again." I tell Six and she nods at me. She settles her head into my lap. I feel my face heating up again.

I nervously run a hand through her hair.

"Can you sing me to sleep?" she jokes and I chuckle.

* * *

"Wait, turn at the next intersection." Ella instructs Nine. "Five tells me we're near." she adds.

"You're talking to her?" Nine asks looking obviously interested.

"Yes." Ella says and he grins.

"Six, wake up." I nudge her from my lap. She stirs and rubs her eyes as she looks up at me. "We're near." She smiles and gets up.

"Ella, tell Five to light a flare or something." Nine tells Ella again while Six nudges Marina and Eight to wake up.

After a few moments Ella replies. "She says they can't. It's too dangerous. The Mogs may see it too and track us down again." She says. "Five says that she'll just navigate us to where they are.

"Cool! You will be like a GPS navigator." Nine tells Ella then we all laugh.

"Yeah... yeah..." Ella pouts.

"Turn over that dirt road with a "Do Not Enter' sign." Ella says again when our laughter died down.

We are driving through a dark dirt road flanked by tall and thick trees on either sides that the sunlight barely shine through. The area looks really secluded like in the middle of a forest. On the next bend, there's a huge boulder at the side of another narrower straight road. The path is covered by thick layers of dried leaves.

"We can't go any further." Nine announces. "Looks like we should continue on foot." he adds. "We can leave the car here."

"It's okay." Ella says. "It's not that far away from here." she adds.

Nine turns to us who are sitting in the backseat. "Well, what are you waiting for? Move along people." he says.

We all get out of the pickup and gather all our bags and Chests. Bernie transforms into a gigantic beagle and Ella hops on his back.

"Hey, that's not fair." I say. "He's my pet. He should be carrying me." Six slaps my wrist. "Go on Ella." she says.

Ella and Bernie leads the way and we file in behind them.

"This place looks creepy." Marina says as she latch on to Eight's free arm. Those two are really inseparable.

We continue our trek for a few more minutes until the dark path opens up to a brighter one and beyond is a log cabin shaded by a massive oak tree. I can hear music playing from a stereo as we approach nearer.

"We're here." Ella announces and grins back at us. She looks like an innocent school girl with her pink Hello Kitty backpack.

The door of the cabin burst open and a redhead girl steps outside. Nine immediately walks ahead of us then drops his bag and Chest in front of her.

"Hey there gorgeous." he says and grins widely at her. I glance at Six to see her roll her eyes. "You must be Five. I'm the awesome oh-so powerful Nine."

"Yes." the girl merely says and scrunches her brows at Nine. "But you can call me Sophia." We all approach and Ella dismounts from BK.

"Hi! I'm Ella." Ella greets. Five shakes her hand and smiles at her. An old man comes out from behind her. "Hello!" he greets all of us. "Welcome. I'm Malcolm Goode."

Then Five's brown eyes turns to me. She surprisingly runs towards me with a huge smile as she push Nine aside. "You must be the infamous John Smith." she says as she stands directly in front of me with a grin.

"Yeah." I simply say. Five launches herself towards me in a big hug and she kisses my cheek.

"Oh dude!" Nine whines and I feel Six's delicate warm hand in mine. She held it tighter. While Five hugs me.

"Oh! Where did you go?" I hear Five's alarmed voice and see her confused face as she jumps back.

"Someone's jealous." Marina whispers knowingly behind me.

_"Looks like you're in trouble." _Ella says.

* * *

**Hey there! I had a little free time so here's a short update. I know it's not my best but I hope you guys like it.**

**And thanks for reading and to those who reviewed. Let me know what you think by leaving a review :)**

**xoxo, th3craft3r**

**P.S.: I hope to update my other works soon :D**


	5. In A Bind

******Disclaimer: I do not own Lorien Legacies or any of its characters.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**In a Bind**

**Marina's POV**

* * *

Eight and I are standing behind where Four and Six were moments earlier. "Someone's jealous." I whisper as I stare at Five. Her face turns into a frown as Four and Six vanish from our sight.

A little while later, the two Gardes materialize a few steps back. I turn to Five and smile at her. "I'm Number Seven." I tell her. "But you can call me Marina." I add as we shake hands. "I'm Sophia." She says then hugs me.

"This is Eight." I say as I gesture towards Eight who is standing right behind me. "But you can call me Joseph if you want. At least, that's my last Earth name."

"Nice to meet you." Five says and shakes Eight's hand too. Then her gaze turns to Four once again as he and Six walk back towards us.

Five smiles. "Cool!" she exclaims and leaps towards Four again and kiss his cheek. "You have the Legacy of invisibility?" she asks. Six glares and I stifle a laugh.

"Oh man! This is unfair." I hear Nine mumble. "Why does he always get the girl?" he continues and the older man whose name was Malcolm Goode looks on with an intrigued expression.

"Actually, that's my legacy." Six says as she continues to look at Five in a weird way… like she's going to eat her alive any minute. The jolly redheaded Garde however seems not able to take a hint as she continues to stare at Four excitedly.

"And you are?" Five turns to Six, oblivious to the glare of the other Garde. "Your worst nightmare." Six says and smirks then drags Four away. Eight and I break into a hearty laugh.

Five spins around and in a split second, Six is hurled away by an invisible force. She lands against a tree which easily splits in two. "Bring it on Blondie!" Five yells and smiles as Six gets up with an angry face.

"Cool it down guys…" Four pleads as he stands in between the seething Six and the cocky redhead. Across the field, Nine looks excited. "Oh… this is going to be fun." He says.

"Not really a great first time meeting." Eight let out a sigh next to me as he slips a hand against mine. "Let's see what happens." He whispers. Ella stands beside me. Bernie Kosar whines.

"Oh, you're so going to regret that redhead." Six says and smiles. "Step aside John." She says and runs towards Five. Four poises to intercept her but she vanishes.

Six materializes in front of Five, grabs her wrist then judo flips her. Four hurries to break the fight but Nine restrains him. "Hold it Johnny boy… let's see what they got."

A blue bubble wraps around Five and Six is thrown back again. "Is that all you got?" she teases then throws a punch at Six which she easily avoid and counters with her own punch but the redhead blocks her.

Six kicks her in the midsection and Five grunts as she is forced back. Another roundhouse kick from Six forces Five to activate her blue bubble thing again. Six's foot hit the bubble harmlessly.

"Is that a shield?" I wonder.

Ella pulls on Eight's hand. "Stop them." She insists.

"I'm not going to get in that catfight." Eight replies as we watch the other two Gardes battle it out. So far, they managed to cut down three trees.

Five sweeps Six's feet and the other Garde tumbles down. She rolls over and quickly stands up and jumps a step back. Six counters with her telekinesis and Five backflips and lands in the nearest tree. She groans and stands up with a smirk.

"Look, we need to stop them now." Four says and breaks free from Nine's hold. He rushes to Six but Five turns to him and flings him back with a powerful telekinesis. "That's it." Eight says then teleports just in time to catch Four. He vanishes again and shows up next to Five and grab her. The old man Malcolm steps out of the way while cursing.

"Let go." Five yells and a burst of energy throw Eight away. "Nine stop them." I shout at him.

"On it." He yells back and runs toward Five and but Six flings him back. Fortunately he uses his antigravity and floats safely to the ground. "Marina, don't think about butting in." Six warns. She has a small cut on her left cheek.

"Nice Legacy." Five says as she stares at Nine. "But can you do this?" she asks and levitates off the ground. In a matter of seconds she is flying high and zooming towards Six. She tackles her to the ground and they both roll around trying to hit each other.

I decide to use my telekinesis to intervene. I yank Five back as I realize it's turning into something serious. "Was that all your Cepan taught you?" Five toys. She didn't realize she just crossed a line.

"Uh oh…" Ella whispers beside me.

"What?" I ask her in alarm.

"Stop her!" Ella yells as she points toward Six. The sky darkens.

Four scrambles toward Six. "Six don't. She's one of us." He says but it seems she's not hearing any of his words. Thunder rumbles as an ominous face forms in the sky.

"Activate your shield!" I shout at Five. A frown crosses her face when she stares back at me. "Now!" Comprehension dawns and her shield forms around her just in time a white bolt of lightning strikes her then another one follows.

"Six stop!" Four yells then tackles her to the ground. "Elizabeth, that's enough." He adds as he pins her down securely. The face in the sky gradually disappears. Six stares up at Four with a puzzled and tired face.

Eight and Nine gets a hold of Five who looks dazed. "Okay, sweetie… cool Legacies you got there but demonstration's over." Nine says as he holds Five's hands behind her back. The redhead is muttering some curses in Spanish which I had a privilege to understand.

At the other side of the field, Four is helping Six to stand up. "I think that's it." I say. However, the ground shakes for a moment and Nine and Eight are thrown back. Both Gardes flies off the ground as if some force pushed them upwards. Nine floats safely but Eight lands near a boulder, barely missing the huge stone.

"You got to be kidding me." I curse as I stare at Five with a frown. I am about to use my telekinesis on her but Ella grabs me.

"It wasn't her." Ella says next to me then points farther away.

"Are you okay Sophia?" a voice yells.

"Mog!" I shout as a skinny Mogadorian emerges from the tree line. He is wearing a black shirt that looks too big for him. Eight teleports next to the said Mog and grabs his neck then kicks his legs, forcing him to the ground.

"Wait!" Sophia and Malcolm shouts at the same time. Eight pauses. He was about to snap the Mog's neck. Nine runs back in front of Five protectively. Four also crouch in front of Six.

"He's with us." Five says. "He's Adamus." She adds and walks past Nine, ignoring the latter's scowl.

"He's a Mog." Eight says as he maintains his hold on Adamus' neck. "Give me a good reason not to break his neck."

"Sophia is right. He's with us." Another voice comes from behind the tree line. A geeky boy with brown hair emerges.

"Sam?" Four asks. He and Six look at the new boy with gladness.

"John!" The boy exclaims and runs toward Four and hugs him. "Hi Six." He adds as he stare at Six and his face blushes.

"Ummm… guys… I'm about to die here." Adamus say and my attention go back to him. "Eight, please let him go." Five says. "We'll explain everything inside." Eight looks doubtful and Nine is not too happy about it.

"Joseph, let him go." I tell Eight. He loosens his hold and shoves the Mog forward. "I'm watching you." He says then teleports back to my side. "That makes two of us." Nine adds.

"Then count me in too." I say. "And me." Ella echoes. "But I think he's fine." She adds as Malcolm ushers us inside.

"Well, I guess that went quite well." Malcolm says with a smile.

The interior of the cabin looks big enough. There's a modest living room with two wooden sofas and a coffee table. At the corner is a computer station where three screens monitors are currently running.

We all settle in but keep a wary distance from the Mog boy. I don't trust him at all.

Four, Six and Sam are catching up and are already exchanging stories on one corner. I can't help but notice how awkward Sam is acting around Six. And there's that frown on his face when Six absentmindedly laces her hand around Four's wrist.

"Well, explain to us why we're not going to tear you to pieces Mog boy." Nine states as He looks at the Mog fiercely. I can very well see the anger in his eyes. I know… I am feeling it too as I recall how Adelina died. However, I turn my attention at tending to the various cuts and bruises on Five.

"Don't worry, it's just my Legacy." I tell Five as I close a cut on her wrist while Adamus starts explaining. Six and the others gather around to listen. Four already healed her cuts.

The Mog told us his story… about his family, How One died in Malaysia… Dr. Anu's experiment, One's memories… How Number Two died in London… about his failed attempt at rescuing Three, How he survived… his choice to become a traitor and the story of how he and One took down the Mog Estate using One's Legacy that she transferred to him, rescuing Malcolm in the process. I was surprised too when we learned that he was also there at New Mexico where he and Malcolm found Sam.

Sam told us his own story. He was imprisoned a Mog cave in West Virginia for a while then was transferred to Dulce, New Mexico to be interrogated by the Mogs and FBI.

"…we stayed at a motel for two days then we ran into a Mog scouting party. They were chasing Sophia. We found her hovering on top of a tree, using her telekinesis to hurl stones at the enemies." Malcolm joins in. "Adamus and Sophia killed three while Sam and I managed to take down the other one.

"I had it under control." Five says. "I was on my way to Ohio to look for John Smith." She adds and stares at Four with a flirtatious smile. Six grimaces.

"So, are you saying that we should believe all you said?" Nine asks, still distrustful. "How can you assure us that this is not some kind of a trap?" he asks Adamus who is sitting a few paces away from us, next to Malcolm and the computers.

Ella laughs. We all turn towards her. "What's so funny Ten?" Nine asks, looking irritated.

"She's beautiful." Ella says that confuses all of us.

"Who? Me?" Five asks. Six rolls her eyes and I suppress a laugh.

"No… One…" Ella says. "He's thinking about her." she adds as she points towards a nervous and blushing Adamus. "He's telling the truth."

"Are you sure?" Eight asks with a serious face.

Ella nods her head and continues to stare at Adamus with a blank face. "You liked her." she says. The Mog boy looks embarrassed and Five snorts.

"Yeah, she's like his imaginary girlfriend." Five says which causes Adamus to glare.

"She's not imaginary." Adamus snaps which causes Nine to pull out is staff and Eight also has a dagger. "I'm sorry." The Mog says. "She's real. I saw her die. I lived through her memories."

"You saw her die and did nothing." Four says with bitterness.

"I'm sorry… I didn't understand back then." The Mog says and bends his head low.

"I believe you." Ella says. "But I won't forget that it is your race that's hunting us and killed my Papa." She adds with sadness. Six hugs her.

"Well, enough chit-chat for a while. I know you kids are tired and hungry." Malcolm says. "Come on, I cooked something for all of you." He adds and leads us to what I assume is the dining room. A round table dominates the middle with nine simple wooden chairs around it. "Settle down while I get the food." Malcolm says. "Sam, can you help me?"

"Sure dad." Sam says and follows is father into another room.

"I'll help too." I offer.

"It's alright young lady." Malcolm says. "We can handle it."

I sit next to Eight. Ella sits to my right. Six settles next to Four, directly opposite Five and Nine. Adamus stands in the corner.

"Come sit with us." I offer him.

"Is it okay?" he asks warily.

"We don't bite." Six says sarcastically. Adamus sits at the other side of Five. Sam and his dad come in with trays of various foods and a pot of hot stew. We all eat hungrily.

After eating, we decide to look around. We find Nine pestering Five in the kitchen as he offers to help her with the dishes. Four, Six and Sam is back at the living room, talking about something. Ella is sleeping in one of the rooms while Bernie Kosar stands guard in the doorway. Malcolm is scanning through the computers.

"You want to go outside?" Eight asks me.

"Sure." I answer. I turn to Six. "We'll look around." I say.

Six looks at me teasingly. "Sure." She says and grins which make me blush. Eight grabs my hand and gently drags me outside. "Finally, some alone time." He whispers as we cross the threshold.

* * *

**Four's POV**

* * *

Well, the day was certainly eventful. Five and Six had a smack-down. An unlikely ally showed up. And we saw Sam again. I am so glad that he's already safe and with us again. He is currently talking with Six and from what I'm seeing, he's really enjoying himself.

Ella is still asleep. Marina and Eight are outside and hasn't come back yet. It's already dark outside and Nine insisted on checking the perimeter despite Malcolm saying that everything is fine. The Mog boy, Adamus is sleeping beside the computer table where Malcolm is working. That leaves me with Five. She is sitting across me from the sofa, wearing a sexy red shirt and black training shorts.

"So tell me about yourself, John Smith." Five asks and makes a gesture towards me. "You're quite famous you know..." she adds further. "You made it on the FBI's Most Wanted List and Millions of dollars on your head. I'm quite impressed." she states. "Not really going low profile."

"Yeah, I know." I reply. "Six told me the same thing." I add and Five's brow creases. She stands up and transfers next to me.

"Hmmm... what's with you and Six anyway?" she asks and it surprises me. "

"I don't know." I say. "We're still on the process of figuring out."

"Sam told me you have a human girlfriend." Five says and I find myself thinking about Sarah for a moment. "You're quite a playboy too." Five adds. "Mind if I join in?" she flirts.

I keep quit for a while. "Ummm... I left her back in Ohio for her own safety." I manage to say. "I guess I'll never be seeing her again. I don't want her to be in trouble because of me."

"Hmmm... noble. Another reason for me to like you." Five says again and I can't help but blush. I wonder what would be Nine's reaction if he's hearing this. The next thing I know, Five's head is already in my lap. She stares up at me and blinks her eyes in a flirtatious way. Alright, she's so aggressive. "Tell me, do you think I'm pretty?" she asks. I consider for a moment. Her fiery red air does stand out. A slightly tanned skin, brown eyes... thin eyebrows, a fine nose and naturally pink lips and cute accent... yes, she's more than pretty...

"Well, Nine probably thinks you're the prettiest girl he ever met." I offer.

"I'm not asking what that cocky boy thinks. I'm asking you." Five states then smiles.

"Sure... you're beautiful." I say truthfully.

"Aww... ain't you sweet..." she says then gets up and kisses my cheek. I blush again and my heart races. Too bad and too late, Six happens to be standing in the archway that leads to the kitchen and sees the kissing part.

"I'll be looking for Eight and Marina." Six says and storms off. "They've been gone long enough." she adds over her shoulder before she slams the door.

_"Damn I'm screwed." _I realize.

Five smiles widely then gets up to head over to the kitchen. I get up too and turn around just to see Ella rubbing her eyes. "You're in so much trouble. Again." she says. "I'll go see if there's milk." she follows Five to the kitchen with BK trotting beside her.

I decide to follow Six outside. I find Nine returning from his rounds. "Hey, have you seen Six?" I ask him.

"She went that way." Nine replies and points toward the back of the house. "Is Five inside?" he asks in return.

"Thanks. Yeah, she's in the kitchen." I reply and hurry to follow Six.

I discover that there's a small river a few feet away from the cabin. I see two people sitting by the bank. I observe for a while... then I see Eight kissing Marina's lips. Those two are lucky. It seems that they're meant for each other. And then I made the stupid mistake of stepping into a dried twig. It snaps and breaks the other two's kiss as they look in my direction.

"Four?" Marina asks. I can't clearly see but I bet she's looking like a ripe cherry by now.

"What are you doing snooping around man?" Eight whines.

"I'm sorry." I apologize as I held my hand up. "I'm looking for Six. Any chance you saw her?"

"No, we didn't." Marina says.

"Okay. Thanks." I tell them. "Carry on..." I add teasingly. I am about to turn back when an acorn drops into my head.

"For someone who can see in the dark, you're too blind Marina." Six's voice says.

"Six? Where are you?" I ask.

"Can't really see you if you've turn yourself invisible Six." Marina says as she starts scanning the treetops. Another acorn hits me squarely in the face.

"Hey! that hurts!" I complain.

"It does?" Six asks rhetorically. "Good!"

"Six, come down here." I tell her. There's a rustle of leaves, another acorn hits my shoulder. I activate my Lumen and shine it on the treetops.

"Come on, I think dinner's ready." Six says and deactivates her invisibility. She stares at me with a glare. Then she starts walking back towards the cabin. I turn and follow her. Three steps forward, she turns around to address Eight and Marina. "I think it works better without the clothes on." She says and smirks before resuming her walk. I follow her with the backdrop of Eight and Marina's curses. She never says anything else the rest of the way.

I open the back door for her and we enter the kitchen. We find Ella drinking a milk from a carton. She looks at Six. "Want some?" she offers. Six takes the carton and takes a swig of milk then hands the carton back to Ella. The young Garde reaches for a platter in the sink then pours the remaining milk for BK to drink.

Marina and Eight steps inside and we all proceed to the dining room where the others are already waiting, except for the Mog boy.

"Where's Adamus?" Marina asks.

"He's checking something on the computer." Malcolm says as he carves a roasted chicken.

"You left him alone?" Eight asks.

"Relax, he's not going anywhere. The Mogs are also hunting him down." Five says then turns to Six. "How about a rematch tomorrow Blondie?" she challenges.

"Sophia, that's enough." Malcolm reprimands.

"Do you really want to get toasted so badly redhead?" Six snaps back. I clamp my hands on her wrist and hold her tight.

"Lizzie, don't." I tell her.

"Oh, your earth name is Lizzie?" Ella asks Six.

"It's actually Maren Elizabeth." I tell Ella which gives Six a reason to punch my shoulder. "Don't call me Lizzie." she warns then sits down at a nearby chair.

Sam snickers at a corner. "Why are you girls fighting anyway?" he asks and neither girls answers.

"They're fighting over him." Nine says and gestures towards me. "I seriously don't get the point. Johnny boy's not nearly as good looking as me." he adds and Eight, Marina and Ella laughs.

A few more bickering and we finally share some leftover soup, roasted chicken and some bread.

After dinner, we all settle down to get some rest. Malcolm and Adamus offers to take the first watch and we agree... well, with a slight objection from Nine but he eventually concedes.

There are only two rooms in the cabin. The girls takes the other one while Eight, Nine, Sam and I take the other. The bed is small so we let Sam have it. Nine and Eight sleeps on the floor. I decide to go back to the living room instead and sleep on the couch. Adamus is manning the computer station while Malcolm goes out to check the perimeter.

I toss and turn around on the couch, unable to get some sleep. "Trouble sleeping?" Adamus asks. I nod at him. "Want me to turn off the lights?" he asks.

"Would you mind?" I ask him. The Mog boy stands away from the computer screen then turns off the light.

A while later, I hear some footsteps. I assume it's Malcolm returning but Six's face materializes above me, her hair cascading down on her face.

"Mind if I sleep here?" Six asks. "I can't stand that redhead." she adds with a frown.

"Sure." I tell her and I get up from the couch. "Here, you can take my place." I offer but she pushes me down. "No, stay." she says and lies next to me. The couch is small so we barely fit on it.

"I guess, I'll leave you guys for a bit." Adamus says and he walks out the door. "Just wake us if it's our turn to take watch." I call after him.

Six settles her head comfortably at the crook of my neck. Her hair tickles me a bit. I embrace her with my other hand to keep her from falling off the couch. She mumbles a "good night" and closes her eyes. Her warm breath skids along my chest.

_"Good night you two."_ Ella conveys telepathically.

* * *

**And I'm back! Well, it's exam week so, regular updates will start next week. That goes for my other Fics as well. I'm truly sorry for taking so long to update. Anyways, I hope you liked this addition. Let me know what you think by leaving a review or a PM.**

**xoxo, th3craft3r**

**P.S.: Sorry for the messy grammar and lack of editing too.**


	6. Training Day

**********Disclaimer: I do not own Lorien Legacies or any of its characters.**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**Training Day**

**Nine's POV**

* * *

Everything is quiet as I stand guard outside. It's been close to an hour since Eight woke me up to relieve him of guard duty. So far, far so good. No signs of Mogs on our trail and the cabin is pretty remote. The sun was already up and I bet the others are already up too. I decide to go back inside to get myself a cup of coffee.

As I enter the door, I see the Mog boy staring down at something on the floor. I glare towards his direction but he didn't seem to notice. Malcolm is still asleep, his head resting on the computer station. I continue on my way to the kitchen. Marina is already up and making breakfast. She hands me a cup of steaming coffee with a smile.

"Thanks." I say. Marina grins and goes back tending to the scrambled eggs on the pan. "So, had a nice rest?" I ask casually before I take a sip of coffee.

"Yeah." Marina replies then pauses. "Five loves to snuggle... so it was kind of warm." she adds then smirks.

"Oh." I merely say but my mind is already conjuring up images that are probably scandalous as I think about Five. "Anyway, I'll check on how the others are doing." I say then start towards the living room.

I find the Mog boy still staring at something at the floor, but this time Sam is already with him, and so is Ella and Eight. All of them has different expressions as they stare at something close to the sofa. Ella is smiling, Sam has a serious face, Eight is looking amused and the Mog boy is looking intrigued. I decide to see for myself what they are staring at.

As I lean over the couch, I see Four and Six lying on the floor. I don't really know how to describe it but their legs were tangled with each other. Six's head is resting comfortably at the crook of Four's neck while her left palm is cupping his cheek. On the other hand, Johnny boy's left arm held Six in an embrace and his other palm is on her belly. Both of them had a contented smile on their faces. We watch a while longer. Six nuzzles her nose at Four's neck then she breaths deeply. He, in turn shifts and rests his chin on her forehead. I hear Ella's giggle and Eight's chuckle.

_ "Way to go Johnny boy." _I thought as I smile down at them.

I take a sip from my coffee again.

"What are you guys doing?" Someone asks and I turn just to see Five yawning a few steps away from me. The coffee literally goes out of my nostrils as I notice she is only wearing a cotton white shirt and a skimpy gray underwear.

"Ummm..." I trail off as I stare at her stupidly.

Someone clears their throat, I don't know who exactly. "Sophia, would you put on some pants." I hear Sam say. Five just smiles widely.

"Nine, you're drooling." Eight tells me jokingly. I snap out of my daze and turn to grin at him.

Five walks over and stands next to me. "What are you guys looking at?" She asks and hunches over the couch. "Oh." she says and furrows her brows and bites her lips as she stares at the sleeping form of the other two Gardes.

A moment later, Five stands straight and circles the couch to get to Six's side. We just stare at her as she puts either hands on her hips then she lets out an irritated sigh. Seriously though, I was looking somewhere else. Without warning, she lightly nudges Six with her right foot. Six groans and slightly opens her eyes.

As soon as Six notices we are all staring at them, her cheeks turns the color of pink. However, when she looks up at Five who's in a state of slightly undressed, she latches more tightly to Four and burrows her head further at the base of his neck then she smiles mischievously. Ella giggles, Eight snorts. Even the Mog boy starts laughing. It was kind of cute and funny and I find myself suddenly thinking that instead of Four and Six lying there, I picture out that it was me with Five clinging to me tightly while wearing her skimpy gray underwear. Okay, I'm so bad thinking about it, maybe she'll spank me.

"Hey! The sun's already up." Five lightly kicks Six's side. "Get up you two!" she adds sounding irritated.

Six murmurs something while Four yawns and groans. "Geez, we're sleeping here. Shut up." Four mumbles while he opens his eyes. Six's hands are quick to cover them. "Close your eyes, there's something unsightly standing beside me." she says and I can't help but let out a hearty laugh and the others join me too. Even Sam who still looks serious.

"Put on some pants and we'll wake up." Six adds further while she contentedly nuzzles against Four's earlobes.

Five walks back to my side. "May I?" she asks as she gestures towards my cup of coffee. I raise a brow at her but grin nonetheless. I imagine I probably look like a goof right this instant. I hand her the cup. She takes a sip then unceremoniously spits it out at Six.

Six bolts in surprise. "Damn it!" she shouts which causes Malcolm to wake up. "Get back here you bitch!" she shouts after Five who already ran back into their room. Six stands up and follows the redhead.

Johnny boy remains sprawled on the floor. "Get up lazy!" I say and smack him with a pillow from the couch. He mutters some curses as he squints his eyes and get up.

"I'll go see what Marina is doing." Eight says and walks toward the kitchen. Ella and I share a look. "I'll go see what's happening with the other two." She says and runs back to their room where a sound of banging door is already evident.

"Hmmm... that was interesting." I say but I can't still get the image of Five wearing her underwear out of my mind.

"We kind of got used to her dressed like that." Sam tells me as if he knew what I am thinking.

"So, what shall we do today?" The Mog boy asks while he remains seated next to Malcolm who already went back to snoring. I look at him with a glare. I'm still not comfortable with a Mog in my line of sight.

"We'll train." I say then saunter off to the kitchen.

"So, you and Six huh?" I overhear Sam asking Four just before I enter the kitchen.

* * *

As I enter the kitchen, I see Marina and Eight setting up the table. I proceed to to sit at one of the chairs and decide to observe them while they both work with each other with such ease.

"Hey Marina?" I call out.

"Yes?" Marina asks as she scoops some heated leftover stew into a bowl and hands it to Eight.

"Can I ask you a favor?" I ask and scratch my head.

Marina looks back at me and raises her brows with a questioning look on her face. "What can I do for you?" she asks.

"Well, err... umm..." I trail off, feeling a bit stupid and ridiculous. "Umm..."

"Spit it out Nine." Eight says with a smirk as he put the bowl of stew on the table and then arrange the plates.

"Well... can you... uh..." I trail off again. "Can you help me with Five?" I ask. Both Gardes burst into laughter. _"Oh great!" _I add mentally.

"Really?" Marina asks as she continues laughing. "I thought it was something serious." she adds.

"Well, it's kind of serious." I say while Eight continues to snicker. I throw a spoon at him which he easily catches. "Four obviously got Six... You and Eight are undeniably together... I figure out I need a partner too." I say then smirk. I notice that both of them blushed.

"I'll see what I can do." Marina says. "But I think she's got a crush on Four too."

Ella enters the kitchen with Five and Six in tow. Both girls are massaging their reddened cheeks as they stare at opposite directions. Five is already wearing a green training shorts while Ella is still on her pajamas and Six is wearing a white tee and black pants. All three of them sits around the table with Five and Six seating as far away from each other as possible.

"What happened?" Marina asks as she stares at Six first then at Five. "They had a morning smack-down." Ella is quick to answer.

"Alright..." I begin as I give all of them a once over look. "Ridiculous and amorous issues aside, I think we should spend the day training." I offer. Both Eight and Marina snickers.

"Sounds good to me." Six says and stands up. She grabs a cup from the cupboard and pours herself a cup of coffee.

"I'm actually itching to beat someone." Five adds and smiles nonchalantly. Ella goes to check the fridge for some milk.

"Okay, we'll start after breakfast." Eight agrees.

The others enter the kitchen too and Six walks over to Four and shares her cup of coffee with him. They sit down beside each other.

"Hey Five, do you want some coffee?" I ask. She smiles back. "No, I'm good." she says.

"Good morning kids." Malcolm greets with a wide grin then sits down next to Five. Everyone else settles in. We are having scrambled eggs, bread and leftover stew for breakfast.

Midway through breakfast, Five stands up. "Excuse me, I'll just go check something on the computer." she says and runs toward the living room, leaving behind her half-finished meal. Her accent is just so adorable to hear that Johnny boy catches me grinning to myself.

Six stands up and gets something from the fridge. When she goes back to her seat, I saw she dropped something red in Five's stew. "What was that?" I ask her.

"Nothing." Six says and shrugs.

Five walks back in the kitchen but she's already wearing glasses that she looks like a sexy geek. She settles back in her chair and continues eating her bread. "So, what was that about?" I ask her while she's busy munching on the bread.

"Just an article I'm monitoring." She replies then takes a spoonful of stew. "Mierda! Five curses loudly and runs to get a glass of water. We all stare at her in confusion.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Who put some chili on my stew?" Five asks angrily then stares at Six.

"Don't look at me." Six says but she looks so close in bursting to laughter. The other Garde is seething red. I don't know if it is from the chili or she's just really pissed. She grits her teeth. "You and me. Rematch later." Five says as she points at Six.

"I don't know, I hate to see you beaten so badly." Six answers and grins.

"Ooohhh burn!" Eight teases and stares at Five.

"We'll see about that." Five answers.

"Oh, this will be fun." I say.

"Would you two, stop quarreling already." Malcolm says but both Gardes just smile at him.

* * *

After breakfast and resting a bit, we decide to start our training. Five leads us at the back of the house and across the river into a wide clearing. The place is suitable for us to train. Thick trees flank around us.

"So, who likes to spar with me?" I ask.

"I'll give it a try." Eight says. Everyone else chooses their partner. As expected, Five and Six will have their rematch. Four and Marina will be training with each other. Sam and the Mog boy decides to help Ella. Malcolm stayed behind in the cabin with Bernie Kosar.

* * *

**Five's POV**

* * *

Alright, I'm going to make Blondie pay for putting chili in my stew.

Here's the thing, I definitely have a crush on Four but it's just admiration. And I usually get what I want and I just love making someone angry, irritated or whatever. So, yeah... I'm a bit sadistic but bubbly too. At least that's what my Cepan told me. How I miss her.

The others already started sparring and I am staring at Blondie across the field. "Come and get me." she teases with a grin. "Oh, confident are we?" I tease then we run towards each other. I throw a punch at her but she blocks it and grabs my arm. Then she counters with her own punch straight to my face but I sidestep and push her away with my telekinesis.

Blondie crouches then sweeps my feet. I fall to my back but I quickly recover and back-flip then give her a flying kick to the chest. She grunts and skids on the ground. "Come on, two can play this game." I taunt.

"That's more like it." Six grins then stands up. We continue trading punches and kicks. After a few rounds, Six manages to land a kick on my ankle and I grunt and fall on my face. She is about to pick me up when suddenly someone bumps into her. It was the cocky boy, Nine. Apparently Eight managed to hit him and he flew and unfortunately lands on Six. It gives me time to recover.

"Sorry about that." Nine says as he offers a hand towards Six. However, she grabs his wrist and slams him to the ground which produces a small crater. Nine groans as Six looks down at him. It gives me an opening to attack her once again. But before my punch could connect to her shoulder, I suddenly feel a force diverting my direction. I miss and Six turns invisible.

I look over the field and see Four smiling. _"Did he just use his telekinesis on me?" _ I wonder. I put up my shield in case Six tries to counterattack. It's clearly becoming a free-for-all battle.

"Don't look anywhere else while you're fighting me." Marina tells Four. "Hya!" she exclaims as she lands a kick straight into his chest. Four flies a few feet away and hit the ground. Then the ground shakes. I see a shock-wave heading towards me. However, when it hits the edge of my blue bubble shield, it diverts in two separate directions.

"May I join in?" Adamus asks.

"You'll regret saying that." Nine says as he gets up. He's smiling mischievously. I push him away with my telekinesis but he floats effortlessly. I deactivate my shield and then somebody kicks me in the back. I tumble and my face kisses the ground. I turn over and look up just to see Six smirking down at me. And then Eight shows up next to her and slams her to the ground just beside me.

"Urg. Damn you Eight!" Six exclaims. We look at each other I try to use my telekinesis on her but unfortunately she has the same idea. The result is we are both hurled at opposite directions.

Four is currently fighting with Nine. Adamus is holding his ground against Marina.

_"Eight will attack you." _I hear Ella's voice in my mind. Surely, Eight materializes next to me and grabs my wrist. I activate my shield and he flies away. I run towards him then lift him up as I levitate. Then I unceremoniously slam him to the ground. The clearing is becoming a battlefield.

_"__Dodge!"_ Ella shouts and I duck as Four's Lumen blasts overhead. Apparently, Nine is hurling boulders at him. The huge rock is blown to smithereens.

"Let's test that shield of your Five." Marina says and uses her telekinesis to pelt me with the shattered rocks. Almost immediately the bubble forms. Some of the rock are deflected.

A large pointed chunk bounces off the shield and unfortunately heads towards Ella. "Ella, duck!" Six shouts. My heart skip a beat as the chunk heads to her fast. Almost all of us stop and hold our breaths. Then the pointed rock stops in front of her. Ella is staring at it with wide eyes. Her hands were held out in front.

Slowly she thrusts her palms forward. The rock flies away then an invisible force sweeps past the entire clearing. It feels just like telekinesis but more powerful. All of us are hurled away and falls to the ground.

"Whoa! What was that?" I hear someone say. I stand up and Ella is still standing at her spot. She looks like she is frozen. And then she falls. Marina runs towards her in a hurry. We all follow.

"Is she alright? What happened?" Six asks.

"She's unconscious." Marina says as I get to her side. "She'll be okay."

"What she did was pretty powerful." Nine says sounding amazed.

"Maybe she exerted too much energy. Whatever it was, it was so cool." Eight adds.

"I think we should take a break." Four says and everyone else nods.

* * *

Our morning training was pretty intense that all of us had bruises and cuts. Luckily, Marina has a Healing Legacy that after she worked us over, we all looked good as new.

Ella is lying down at the couch on the living room, still recovering from what I think was her newly developing Legacy. Sam, Four and Six are talking together in the front of the cabin while Eight and Marina are helping Malcolm prepare our late lunch.

I decide to take a stroll outside. I walk over to my favorite spot by the river. I'm still wearing my training shorts and a white halter top. I hear branches snapping and I turn around.

"Mind if I join you sweetheart?" Nine asks. He's wearing a white sando and gray cargo pants. I notice his perfectly toned muscles and I smirk. "Yeah, sure." I say.

"You did pretty well this morning." Nine comments.

"Thanks." I say. "You're not bad yourself." I compliment him in return.

"Not bad?" He asks rhetorically. "I'm awesome." He adds. Well, he's back with his cocky self.

"So, where's your Cepan?" He asks as we sit down at a low lying branch of a tree that extends over the flowing river.

"Dead." I tell him. "Three months ago. We were driving on the border of Argentina when the Mogs ambushed us." I add. The memory of my last moment with Isabella almost bring me to tears. She practically raised me like her own daughter. "It was my fault. I convinced her that we should stop for the night. We didn't know that the Mogs were already trailing behind us. When they came, she told me to run for my life while she drew them away. She hugged and kissed me before pushing me away into the dark night, away from the enemies while she runs on the other side. I didn't expect that that would be our last embrace." I finish with teary eyes.

Nine pulls me closer in an embrace. I find it comforting. "Don't worry. We're all here now." he says. "Right now, we need to become stronger... survive and honor the cause that our Cepans died for." He adds. I didn't expect that he had a serious side to him.

Something creaks. The branch snaps and we both fall into the cold water. "Mierda!" I curse as I broke the surface. Nine is laughing hysterically beside me. "Well, that was unexpected." he says.

"Hello?" We hear an unfamiliar voice call out.

I shush Nine. "Did you hear that?" I ask him. He nods back at me. Something moves at the other side of the river. The bushes rustle. I tense and get ready.

"Oh hi!" A chubby brunette emerges from the bushes, she looks like an overgrown girl scout. Then a man also emerge from the bushes and stand behind her.

I feel my muscles relaxing. "Hello." I say.

"We didn't know there are people here." the girl says. "My dad and I are looking for a suitable campsite." she explains further.

"Oh." Nine says.

"Anyways, sorry to disturb you kids." The man says.

"It's alright." I say.

"Actually we're camping here too." Nine says. "We have a cabin nearby."

"So, that explains the smoke and the smell of food." The girl says.

"Yeah, Our um... dad is preparing lunch." Nine says.

"Oh, are you siblings?" the nosy girl asks. She's beginning to irritate me.

"Um, no..." Nine is quick to answer. "She's my girlfriend." he says and pulls me closer. I kick him underwater then give him a death glare. "Isn't that right sweetheart?" he asks then kisses my cheek. _"The nerve!" _My mind is screaming.

"Er... yeah... We also have a couple of friends with us." I add then stomp on Nine's foot.

"Hey guys." I hear another familiar voice and turn to see Six standing on the banks behind us. "Er... hello." she addresses the strangers on the other side. They wave back at her in greeting. Six looks suspicious then she turns to us again. "Lunch is ready." she says.

"Are you two sisters?" The nosy girl scout asks.

"Um, no!" I reply quickly.

"I am in no way related to her." Six says.

"Martha! That's none of your business." The man scolds his daughter then she turns to us. "Sorry, she's just so nosy." he says. "Anyways, we are just passing through. We'll be on our way." he adds and starts dragging his daughter away.

"That was weird." I say.

"Yeah." Nine agrees.

"Get your hands off my waist." I say then we swim towards the shore and follow Six back to the cabin.

* * *

We spent our afternoon on light sparring matches and I am bone-tired. I am reclining on the couch and my feet is above the coffee table. Malcolm called all of us because he has something to explain. Ella is sitting beside me, drinking milk. Nine is on my other side resting his head on the armrest.

"So, while you were out training, I discovered something." Malcolm starts. "A local Mog Leader is planning a gathering. They're inviting prominent people in the city of Philadelphia."

"So, what is it to us?" Nine asks.

"Well, they are planning to extort support from politicians and local authorities in stepping up their hunt for all of you." Malcolm says.

"I hacked their system earlier and discover that they'll also torture some of the guests for relevant information and to easily get resources from them. Especially funds for their war effort." Adamus adds.

"So, what should we do?" I ask. Everyone goes quiet.

"We can attack them." Six casually says.

"Actually that's a good suggestion." I say. Weird. We agreed on something.

"I don't know, what if it's a trap?" Eight asks.

"Hmmm... but we can't go on running forever." I say. Nine and Four agrees.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Sam asks and looks at Adamus.

"According to the information I gathered, they'll use a ball as a cover-up for their operation."

"A ball? Baseball?" Nine asks.

I sigh. "You're so dumb." I tell him and slap his legs. "He means ball... as in dancing." I say. "And dresses."

"But they'll recognize us." Ella says.

"It's a masquerade." Adamus says.

"Are you sure about going?" Malcolm asks all of us and we nod at him in answer.

"I'll take care of the dresses." I offer. "Maybe Marina can help me." I add.

"Alright... Adamus, pull up the schematics of the venue of their gathering." Malcolm says.

"So, the hunters will become the hunted." Nine whispers.

* * *

**Hey there! I'm back again. Thank you so much for the those who left wonderful reviews and messages. I really appreciate it. And I'd like to apologize for this late update. I hope you enjoyed this one too. I'm having trouble finding my writing rhythm lately... hmm... that almost rhymed. Anyway, thanks for reading! I'm planning on an action-packed chapter after this. I'll post again when I can.**

**xoxo, th3craft3r**

**P.S.: Reviews Please :D **


	7. Burn

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lorien Legacies or any of its characters.**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**Burn**

**Six's POV**

* * *

"Are you guys ready for this?" Nine asks through the earpiece when we pull over in front of the imposing mansion. Numerous sentries are posted by the front gate. A tight security for a masquerade ball obviously.

"I've been itching for some action actually." Eight says "Although, I'm still not comfortable wearing this suit." He adds.

"Yeah, you told us for maybe a dozen times already." John says back and rolls his eyes. "Or maybe you like to change into a giant tortoise instead?" he jests and I laugh. Eight grumbles at the other end of the line.

"Don't worry Eight, you look fine." Marina reassures him.

Ella is sitting in the back seat of our car and looking nervous… and why shouldn't the little girl feel nervous? We're just about to storm a Mog mansion actually.

Me, on the other hand is sitting next to John. Wearing a ridiculous outfit I should say. I could've have trade places with Five when I had the chance.

"Alright, are you done bickering?" I hear Malcolm's agitated voice on the earpiece.

"Okay, let's get this show on the road guys." I say. John goes out first then assisted me through the door. I reach for Ella as soon as she disembarks too. After all, she's posing as my daughter… wait, scratch that… mine and John's daughter!

"Look dad!" Ella exclaims as she pulls on John's arm. "This house is huge!" she adds with wide eyes. I got to say, she's off to a great start. Maybe Ella can be a great actress someday.

"Yes, it is sweetie." John replies and I almost burst out laughing. "Wouldn't you agree honey?" he asks me. I feel my face heat up beneath the mask. I clear my throat for a moment. "Yes, it's beautiful." I agree then smile down at Ella.

Nine and Eight are snickering behind us. The Mog sentries look at our direction suspiciously. One of them holds up his hand as we near the gate. "Identification please?" he asks.

"Show them the cards." Adamus says through the earpiece.

I reach inside my clutch bag and retrieve three electronic cards, the size of credit cards. I hold it up for the guard to see and he steps aside. "Welcome Mr. and Mrs. Blake." He says. Ella holds my other hand as she walks between me and John. I didn't bother to look back how the others are doing.

"Asshole." I hear Five's curse behind me. Probably it was meant for either Nine or the guard.

We walk through the cobbled pathway that leads to the front door of the mansion. The gardens and the house itself is exquisite I think… but no time for that, we're here to kill.

* * *

_Four hours earlier…_

* * *

"No way that I'm wearing that dress!" I protest vehemently as I stand beside the dresser of Mrs. Blake's room.

"Look, we have no time to waste arguing about this." Five says. She was already wearing a silver gown that flowed right to her ankles then a pair of matching silver high-heeled shoes. Her fiery red hair flows to the mid of her back. One of the supposed guests was a socialite with red hair so Five got to impersonate her. The real woman was knocked unconscious and bound somewhere in her own home. "Just be thankful that the Blakes had already laid out their outfit for the night." Five adds and crosses her arms. I got to thank her for the makeup and fixing my hair though.

I had to dye my hair back to my original dark locks for this mission. We are posing as the Blakes. They're a prominent family in Philadelphia. They had an eight-year old daughter so Ella had to change her form.

I sigh as I start to strip. I fell conscious especially since Five is in the room with me. She might be scrutinizing me at the moment. _"Why does it have to be her with me this time?_" I complain in my head. _"I wish Marina's here."_ But of course, she's with Eight to secure their own disguise for the night.

"Hey, so how are you guys…" the bedroom door flies open and John is standing by it. He is wearing a navy blue suit and black tie. His face is all red.

I let out a startled shriek and grab the blanket from the bed to cover myself up. I was down to my underwear. "Don't you knock?" I ask him irritably.

John opens and closes his mouth like a fish as he stares at me. "I'm sorry… I thought…" he trails off then steps outside and closes the door. Five breaks into hysterical laughter. "Seriously? Why are you so shy? It's not like he haven't seen you in your birthday suit." She says as she shakes her head. I drop the blanket and give her a scathing glare. "He didn't." I mumble as I start to get dress.

There's a knock on the door and I hear Ella's voice. "Can I come in?" she asks.

"It's okay you can." I shout as I slip my arm into the backless and too-revealing gown. Ella strides into the room, wearing a light pink dress and clutching a silver-lined purse. "How do I look mommy?" she asks me and twirls around.

"What?" I ask her back and quirk an eyebrow at her.

Ella looks puzzled for a bit. "I'm going to be your daughter, aren't I? I'm just playing the part." She says then shrugs.

Five snickers. "She's a good actress." She says.

I smile back at Ella. I didn't actually think I'm having an instant daughter. "You look absolutely lovely." I tell her and her face lights up.

"You look gorgeous." Ella says with wide eyes.

"It's too tight." I complain. "And I wish it didn't show too much skin." I add then let out a sigh.

"Um, guys… the others are here." I hear John say from the other side of the door.

"We'll be right out." I tell him as I put on my stilettos. After one last glance at the mirror and disapproval at how I look, we walk out of the room. The others are gathered in the living room.

"Wow!" Nine exclaims. "Who would've thought, you look like a hot momma!" she tells me which earns him a glare. Eight elbows him on the ribs. Sam is looking at me with his mouth hung open.

"_Damn it, I'm supposed to be the mom here… not the sexy one." _I curse in my mind. "Stop staring at my chest." I say and give John a slap on his arm as I walk past him.

John clears his throat. "The Blakes are in the room upstairs… they're not waking for the next couple of hours. Enough time to complete our plan." He tells the others.

"Did you secure the invitation cards?" Adamus asks John.

"Yeah, got it right here." John replies and hands me three electronic cards. "I think you should keep it, Mrs. Meredith Blake." He says then smirks. I give him a sweet smile.

"Okay, enough flirting… we should get going." Sam says.

"Yeah, he's right." Marina agrees. She was wearing a velvet dress and had her mask on. Eight on the other hand, had to dye his air gray to impersonate an old and wealthy bachelor. He also has a cane. Marina is posing as his niece. "We have a long way to drive at the outskirts of the city."

We make our way outside where the cars are waiting. John, Ella and I will be taking the Sedan. Marina and Eight had an SUV while Five goes with Nine in their 'borrowed' Camaro. After all, Nine is posing as a playboy billionaire.

Malcolm, Adamus and Sam will follow us in their van. They'll be monitoring the whole situation and provide us with intel.

* * *

_At present…_

* * *

We are midway through the pathway and Ella let go of our hands and walk ahead of us. I feel startled when John puts his hand at the back of my waist. "Cold night isn't it?" he whispers.

I nod my head and pretend to adjust my masquerade to distract myself from the tingle that I am feeling at the touch of his hand.

"Don't worry; it'll be burning hot soon." I whisper back.

"I forgot to tell you, you look absolutely lovely tonight." John says which makes my heart thump wildly.

"You look handsome too, if I may say so." I tell him.

"You can flirt all you want later guys." Nine says through the earpiece.

The two guards dressed in black suits open the door for us. Ella latches into my arm once more as we cross the threshold. Well, we come straight into the receiving area. A staircase is situated on either side and above us is a giant chandelier that glows a brilliant white. It seems a nice place to live given other circumstances. A servant ushers us into the adjoining ballroom into the right. A multitude of Philadelphia's masked elite and upper class are mingling all around the place.

Guards wearing black are standing at every corner of the room. At the far end is an elevated platform. The walls are decorated with banners with strange devices in them. I learned that this certain Mog Commander had a flair for throwing such parties.

"Stay with me." I tell Ella as John tows us across the room. We pretend to look around a bit while Ella makes her way toward the buffet table nearby. Nine and Five are conversing with a couple. Marina is assisting Eight as he wobbles across the room with his cane.

A variety of contemporary songs are playing and some couples are already dancing throughout the room.

"You should be blending in with the crowd, not standing on the sides." I hear Adamus on the earpiece.

"Very well then, may I have this dance?" John asks me. I happily accept his offer and we make our way at into the center of the ballroom. _"You two look like a real couple mommy." _Ella says telepathically which make me blush.

_"Stay where I can see you okay?"_ I tell her.

_ Sweet little words made for silence, not talk… _The music began and I shift my gaze towards a new arrival, he is a tall and wide man in his forties from the looks of it. He is wearing some sort of military uniform with various medals decorating his chest.

John puts his hands around my waist and pulls me closer. _Young heart for love, not heartache… _The music continues and I lace my arms around John's neck.

_Dark hair for catching the wind not to veil the sight of a cold world… _I flipped my hair aside and lean into John's shoulder. "Mog soldier two o'clock." He whispers. "Another one on your six." I tell him as we sway together.

_Kiss... while your lips are still red… while he's still silent… _Hmmm… I'm starting to like this song and I'm actually tempted to do what it suggests. _Rest, while bosom is still untouched, unveiled… Hold another hand, while the hand is still without a tool._ John starts spinning me around and his hand comes up to brush a stray lock of hair from my face.

_Drown into eyes while they're still blind… _"I spotted our host for tonight." I say and direct John's gaze towards the tall, wide man that I spied earlier. _Love while the night still hides the withering dawn… _The song continues and John and I stare at each other. Even though with the masks, I can clearly see his eyes boring into mine and it makes my heart skip a beat. Other couples are dancing around us. I see Nine and Five struggling to make a decent dance and trying not to step at each other's toes.

_First day of love never comes back; a passionate hour's never a wasted one… _John and I move again. This time we're heading closer to the elevated platform. _The violin, the poet's hand… every thawing heart plays your theme with care…_ Both John and I stop just in time the chorus of the song starts.

_Kiss… while your lips are still red… _John suddenly cups my face and in a split second we lean towards each other. However, the song stops and a static of a microphone replaces it. I am feeling silly and annoyed as we broke apart and stare at our host above the platform.

"Sorry for the disruption." Commander Vernet starts.

"I'm going to kill him." I mumble out of frustration from the interrupted would-be kiss. Oh wait… scratch that… I hope Ella didn't hear that thought…

"_Too late, mommy."_ Ella says.

"Good evening prominent people of Philadelphia." The ugly Mog continues. "Welcome to my humble abode and to another dashing party." There is a buzz when everyone conveys their own greeting and thanks to the host.

"I know you all came here for fun so I'll be brief. The reason for this gathering is to convey to all of you important people that I am planning to make another investment in your city." He pauses for a while. I spy Nine and Five making their way towards us. "I am looking forward to future business partnerships with some of you for the greater good of the city of Philadelphia."

"This one's a politician." I tell John and he nods back at me.

"Later tonight, I might invite some of you for a private audience if you will." His gaze falls on me and he licks is lips. "I bid you a great evening and enjoy the party ladies and gentlemen!" he finishes then walks off the stage. The music resumes.

"Target marked." Nine says as soon as he and Five reach us. We all make our way towards Ella. Eight and Marina walks toward us as well.

"So, this is it…" Marina says.

"We'll start when he invites us for a private audience." I say. "Five, you'll be the one to raise the alarm. Ella, you go with her." I instruct. Both girls nod their head.

"The fire alarm's on the right staircase in the receiving room." Sam says through the earpiece.

"Yeah, got it." Five says.

"Once we finish off with the commander and his guards in his private study, we'll immediately assist you." Four tells Five and Ella.

For a few more minutes, we went back into mingling with the other guests. "Mr. and Mrs. Blake." A tall guard said when he approaches us. "Mr. Vernet would like to have a word with you." He says.

Five is standing at the entrance of the ballroom, sipping from a glass of champagne. "Go to Five." I whisper in Ella's ear. Eight and Marina is nowhere to be seen, that only means that they're at the holding room already.

John and I follow the Mog. He leads us into the second floor of the mansion, then on to a hallway flanked by expensive paintings on both sides. John laces his fingers with mine as we walk together. The hallway ended with a black door which opens when we are about two paces away. We step inside.

Ten people are already inside. Marina and Eight are already there.

"Ah! Welcome Mr. and Mrs. Blake. I'm glad you could join us." Our host greets us from where he is seated behind a desk in front of the other guests. "Please take a seat. We're just waiting for two more and we can start immediately." He adds further then stares at me with lust. At least the dress serves as a distraction.

I notice John's fist already quivering. I lay my hand in his arm in a comforting gesture. "Soon, my dear." I tell him.

A little while later, an elderly lady joins us and then not for long Nine also arrives, escorted by two guards. The door closes and I hear locks clicking from the outside.

"Welcome again, privileged citizens of Philadelphia." Commander Vernet greets again as he stands up ten circles his desk. He smiles slyly.

"I'm glad that you decided to invest in our city again Mr. Vernet." One of the guests says.

"Yes, yes… I am glad as well Mrs. Morgan." The Mog replies. "Although, I am here for business actually." He adds then some guests look confuse. "I came here for solicitation." A business man beside me gasps. "We are running low on funds for our war effort at the moment and I hear that our funding isn't due to arrive for the next six months so I am humbly asking for all the help you can give me." He says evilly.

"What are you talking about? What war effort?" Somebody asks. "Are you a terrorist?"

"Not exactly Mr. Norton." The Mog said.

"I am leaving!" Mrs. Morgan says angrily. As soon as she leaves her chair, two guards blocks her way. She is forced to sit down again.

"What do you want?" John asks.

"My, my… Mr. Blake, money of course… and other things…" he replies then shifts his gaze towards me again. "And you can take off your mask now; we're not in the ballroom anymore."

"I've grown quite attached to anonymity." John says.

"And if we don't agree?" Mr. Norton asks again.

"If your families refuse to pay, then I guess I should kill you… and I'll definitely start with you." Vernet replies then pulls out a gun from his desk. "Or… I can burn your city… just for fun." He adds wistfully.

"You'll never get away with this!" Eight says and Marina put a hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"Well, I think I have some demands to write your respective families." Vernet says while scratching his chin. "But first, I think I'll have a little entertainment." Then he turns to his guards. "Boys, please secure Mrs. Blake." He orders then two Mogs grab me by the shoulders. Another two grabs John too when he feigns to protest.

"Don't you dare touch my wife!" John yells at Vernet. Okay, maybe I'm totally mental at the moment when I heard him. I am grinning from ear to ear and feeling like a teen in love as I stare at him.

"Better listen to my husband boys…" I warn them but I didn't struggle. At the corner of my eye, Eight is removing his dagger from is ankle while the Mog's attention was on me and John.

"Enough of that. Take her away." Vernet commanded the Mogs holding me.

"You just made a serious mistake." I said then grin at him.

A split second passes and Vernet slams into the wall with Marina's telekinesis. Eight guts the other Mog holding me while I slam the other one. Nine and John takes care of the other two. I reach for my ankle to retrieve a smoke bomb. I throw it in the middle of the room. I can already hear the fire alarms going off. I control the air to make a way for us through the smoke. Marina, Eight and Nine dashes outside to help Five and Ella. Four and I remain.

The other guests in the room had passed out already.

"Well, well, well… what a surprise. I didn't expect to find you here Lorics." Vernet says as he emerges from the smoke. Seal the whole compound, he orders through a radio. He is holding a long blade at his left hand. He charges at me and slash. However, I sidestep him and give him a kick on the side. He staggers momentarily then swung his blade wildly. John hurls him with his telekinesis and he lands on the wall with a "thud".

We run towards Vernet's fallen body and stare down at him. John's hand is on fire. I reach for my dagger at my other ankle. "I hate this dress." I mumble.

"This is for threatening my husband." I jest and slam the dagger's point into Vernet's chest.

"And this is for staring at my wife's breasts." John says and sprays the Mog commander with Fire. He disintegrated to ash. "Worst Mog commander ever." John says; although I can barely hear him from the chaos that is happening downstairs.

"Hate to interrupt your lovey-dovey guys, but we seriously need your help." I hear Eight on the earpiece.

John and I dash back downstairs. Most of the people have made it out of the mansion's compound. Five had enveloped Ella in her shield and both of them are flinging away any Mog they see using their telekinesis.

Eight and Marina are fighting back to back as a group of Mogs surrounds them. Nine is happily twirling his spear and piercing any enemy that comes close.

John and I decide to lend a hand. He lasts Lumen from his palms at any Mog in sight while I run down the stairs. The dress wasn't really helping.

A Mog comes rushing at me. I duck and swipe him off his feet just in time as a blast of Lumen sails pass me and incinerate another enemy behind me. I stab at the fallen Mog and he turns to ash.

Another Mog is about to stab Nine while he has his back vulnerable. I run to help him but them Five is already there and enveloped him in a shield along with Ella. Eight teleports Marina to safety then they both engage the enemy on much suitable ground.

I glimpse John running down the stairs. His arms are already covered in fire and he burns any enemy that comes in contact with him… including the stairs.

Then they start shooting.

"Get behind me!" Five shouts and we all oblige. She is looking really drained from using her shield. John extinguishes his fire then powers up Five with his Lumen.

"Good, we have a charger." Nine jokes then smirk.

As far as I can see, there are seven Mogs shooting at us and more are pouring in.

"Eight, come here." I tell him. "Nine you too." Both Gardes stand beside me. "I got a plan. Hold on to me, both of you… Eight, grab Nine's hand and at the count of three, teleport us behind the enemies." Both nod their head in realization.

"One… two…" I turn invisible along the two of them. "Three." Then we are standing behind the Mogs that are too busy firing uselessly at Five's shield. I let go then stab the nearest Mog, Eight and Nine does the same. The Mogs are startled that one of them accidentally fires at his comrade.

Five slowly inches forward that the enemies are like caught in between the hammer and anvil. John starts torching enemies again and soon all Mogs had been cleared out. Too bad I can't use my lightning in such confined space.

Outside, the sirens starts wailing. "Uh guys, I think you need to go." I hear Malcolm say.

"We got to go." I say. "John, torch the place." I tell him and he happily agrees then shoots fireball at every direction.

"Five, walk us out of here." Nine says and we huddle together inside Five's protective bubble.

"I'll teleport you one by one." Eight says. "Or by twos." Then he grabs Ella and Marina and then they vanish in a blink of an eye. A moment later, he pops in again a few paces away from us then grabs John and me. We pop into the side of the road, far enough from the burning house. He goes off again then comes back with Five and Nine. Malcolm's van drives into our direction, a Sedan and SUV is trailing behind it.

"They didn't bring the Camaro." Nine whines as he wipes the sweat from his brow.

"Are you alright?" John asks me. He has a few cuts on his face, chest and arm.

"I'm fine." I tell him. He surprises me by enveloping me in a hug. Ella joins us. "I'm supposed to be your daughter." She jokes and I ruffle her auburn hair.

I turn around and see Marina healing Five who still looks exhausted. Eight is cleaning his dagger and for some reason he still has his mask on.

Malcolm's van pulls over as well as the two other cars. "Get in." he says.

John leads me to the Sedan and Sam tosses the keys at him. "Good job guys." He says then gives John a playful punch on the shoulder then a smile for me.

"One down and many more to go." John says as he slides behind the steering wheel. I slide in next to him. "So did you enjoy tonight Mrs. Blake?" he asks.

I shrug my shoulders. "Yeah… although I want to be a Mrs. Smith." I say then on impulse, I lean over to him and kiss his lips. "Sorry, I never had the chance during the dance." I say when I pull away.

* * *

**And Hello! Time for another update ;) Sorry it took so long... I hope you liked this new addition.**

**Please leave a review :) I hope to update soon again.**

**xoxo, th3craft3r**

**P.S.: In case you're wondering, the song during their dance is "While Your Lips Are Still Red" by Nightwish.**


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